Note 372 — TRADITIONS

As the first finished he began to be in terrible pain; the other told him that he must help himself, for he was eating his last morsel. Soon he, too, began to groan, and he said to the other, “There is some mystery about this game; it must be that which makes us so sick.” All night long they groaned, each lying on his own side of the fire. Toward morning one quieted down, and at break of day the other also ceased groaning. The two boys were born again, and both Genonsgwa had died from the terrible pain of giving birth to them. One boy said to the other, “If these men had not bothered us, we should have been far from here. Let them be as full of witchcraft as they can be, they do not amount to anything in comparison with us. We have gotten through with them. I have always heard that these men, our uncles, were very potent magically, but they are not. This is why our father warned us not to go far from the lodge. We will go back and tell him all.” While they were there everything was moving. The game which was not killed passed through the lodge. The elder boy said, “Let us go!” As they were starting he saw his mother passing through the lodge; they stood there laughingly, but did not speak to her. The younger said, “Now we will destroy the lodge. Our uncles have done great harm to people. A man should not eat another man. There shall be no more of this. Henceforth men shall eat only game.”372 The younger boy said this. Of the two boys he had the greater power of witchcraft and was the first to be born after being eaten by the Genonsgwa. He walked around the lodge, throwing red paint such as they used to paint their faces; this action stopped the movement of the stream of land and everything became quiet. He then said, “Now, let us run!” They ran a short distance; on halting and looking back they saw the lodge in flames. The Genonsgwa one after the other burst with a loud report.